System and method for instant online postage metering

ABSTRACT

A system and method for instantly printing PC postage before establishing a postage meter account. The method includes the steps of a meter vendor obtaining a first meter license from the Post for a first meter; loaning the use of a first meter licensed in the customer&#39;s zip code to a customer; requesting a second meter license for the customer; initializing the first meter for use by the customer; and transferring the first meter to the Customer&#39;s meter license when the second meter license is received. Alternatively, when the second meter license is received a second meter is assigned to the customer and the first meter is reassigned to the meter vendor.

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 10/626,850,filed Jul. 22, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,689,518, which is acontinuation of application Ser. No. 09/848,676, filed May 3, 2001, nowU.S. Pat. No. 6,619,544, which is a continuation-in-part application ofU.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/202,507, filed May 5, 2000,each of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention disclosed herein relates generally to systems and methodsfor evidencing postage payment, and more particularly to systems andmethods for evidencing postage payment using a personal computer.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Postage metering systems have been developed which employ encryptedinformation that is printed on a mailpiece as part of an indiciumevidencing postage payment. The encrypted information includes a postagevalue for the mailpiece combined with other postal data that relate tothe mailpiece and the postage meter printing the indicium. The encryptedinformation, typically referred to as a digital token or a digitalsignature, authenticates and protects the integrity of information,including the postage value, imprinted on the mailpiece for laterverification of postage payment. Since the digital token incorporatesencrypted information relating to the evidencing of postage payment,altering the printed information in an indicium is detectable bystandard verification procedures. Examples of systems that generate andprint such indicium are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,725,718,4,757,537, 4,775,246 and 4,873,645, each assigned to the assignee of thepresent invention.

Presently, there are two postage metering device types: closed systemand open system. In a closed system, the system functionality is solelydedicated to metering activity. Examples of closed system meteringdevices, also referred to as postage evidencing devices, includeconventional digital and analog (mechanical and electronic) postagemeters wherein a dedicated printer is securely coupled to a metering oraccounting function. Typically, in a closed system, the printer issecurely coupled and dedicated to the meter, and printing evidence ofpostage cannot take place without accounting for the evidence ofpostage. In an open system, the printer is not dedicated to the meteringactivity, freeing system functionality for multiple and diverse uses inaddition to the metering activity. Examples of open system meteringdevices include personal computer (PC) based devices withsingle/multi-tasking operating systems, multi-user applications anddigital printers. An open system metering device is a postage evidencingdevice with a non-dedicated printer that is not securely coupled to asecure accounting module. An open system indicium printed by thenon-dedicated printer is made secure by including addressee informationin the encrypted evidence of postage printed on the mailpiece forsubsequent verification. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,725,718 and 4,831,555,each assigned to the assignee of the present invention.

Recently, the United States Postal Service (“USPS”) has approvedpersonal computer (PC) postage metering systems as part of the USPSInformation-Based Indicia Program (“IBIP”). The IBIP is a distributedtrusted system which is a PC based metering system that is meant toaugment existing postage meters using new evidence of postage paymentknown as information-based indicia. The program relies on digitalsignature techniques to produce for each mailpiece an indicium whoseorigin can be authenticated and content cannot be modified. The IBIPrequires printing a large, high density, two-dimensional (“2-D”) barcode on a mailpiece. The 2-D bar code, which encodes information, issigned with a digital signature. A description of the IBIP is found inIBIP PERFORMANCE CRITERIA FOR INFORMATION-BASED INDICIA AND SECURITYARCHITECTURE FOR OPEN IBI POSTAGE METERING SYSTEMS (PCIBI-O), apublished draft specification dated Feb. 23, 2000, which is referred toherein as the “IBIP Specification”. The IBIP Specification defines theproposed requirements for a new indicium that will be applied to mailbeing created using IBIP, defines the proposed requirements for a PostalSecurity Device (“PSD”), which is a secure processor-based accountingdevice that is couple to a personal computer to dispense and account forpostal value stored therein to support the creation of a new“information-based” postage postmark or indicium that will be applied tomail being processed using IBIP, and defines the proposed requirementsfor a host system element (personal computer) of IBIP.

The IBIP Specification defines a stand-alone open metering system,referred to herein as a PC Meter, comprising a PSD coupled to a PC,which operates as a host system with a printer coupled thereto. The PCruns the metering application software and associated libraries andcommunicates with the attached PSD. The PC Meter processes transactionsfor dispensing postage, registration and refill on the PC. Meterprocessing is performed locally between the PC and the PSD coupledthereto. Connections to a Data Center, for example for registration andrefill transactions, are made locally from the PC through a local ornetwork modem/internet connection. Accounting for debits and credits tothe PSD is also performed locally, logging the transactions on the PC.Several application programs running on the PC, such as a word processoror an envelope designer, may access the metering application software.An example of a PC Meter product that had been approved by the USPS wasthe E-Stamp® Internet Postage which was distributed by E-StampCorporation of Houston, Tex.

The USPS has approved an alternative version of the PC Meter in whichthe PSD function is performed at a server that is remote from the PC andaccessible through the Internet. A description of the alternativeversion of the PC Meter is found in IBIP PERFORMANCE CRITERIA FORINFORMATION-BASED INDICIA PROGRAM (IBIP) SYSTEMS EMPLOYING CENTRALIZEDPOSTAL SECURITY DEVICES, a published draft specification dated Aug. 17,2000, which is referred to herein as the “IBIP CentralizedSpecification”.

The IBIP Specification defines this alternative version, which isreferred to herein as a “virtual meter”, which is a network meteringsystem that has many client PCs without any PSDs coupled thereto. Theclient PCs run application software for requesting and formattingpostage indicia, but all PSD functions are performed on server(s)located at a Data Center. The PSD functions at the Data Center may beperformed in a secure device attached to a computer at the Data Center,or may be performed in the Data Center computer itself. The client PCsmust connect with the Data Center to process transactions such aspostage dispensing, meter registration, or meter refills. Transactionsare requested by the client PC and sent to the Data Center for remoteprocessing. The transactions are processed at the Data Center and theresults are returned to the client PC. Accounting for funds andtransaction processing are centralized at the Data Center. See, forexample, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,454,038 and 4,873,645, which are assigned tothe assignee of the present invention. An example of a virtual meter isClickstamp® Online Internet postage metering system, offered andmaintained by Pitney Bowes Inc. See also, International PatentApplications WO/9857302, WO98/57303, WO98/57304, WO98/57305, WO98/57306and WO/9857460, each having an international filing date of Jun. 12,1998, for further descriptions of virtual metering.

Although virtual metering is now authorized by the USPS, the vendorshave experienced reluctance on the part of potential mailers to gothrough the registration process and wait for approval for a meterlicense before they are allowed to print postage obtained over theInternet. The delay caused by a mailer waiting for approval for a meterlicense before being able to print postage from a PC is perceived as adeterrent to acquiring mailers. Vendors of PC postage have resorted topaying mailers, for example $25-$50 free postage, as an incentive to tryPC postage. The problem with this technique is that many mailers fail touse the service beyond the free postage.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a system and methodthat eliminates the delay and minimizes the cost of acquiring a mailer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides for instant metering of online postage.The present invention further provides a system and method for printingpostage on a PC printer without having a meter license or a meteraccount. The present invention is described for use with the U.S. PostalService (USPS). It will be understood by those skilled in the art thatthe present invention is suitable for use for metering postage with anyPost.

The USPS requires that the accounting for postage of the mail items thatenter the USPS system (referred to as inbound postage) be reconciled bycrediting the point of origin post office for the postage of the mailitems that enter the USPS system at such post office. The presentinvention provides different embodiments of instant metering of onlinepostage, each of which meets such USPS requirement.

A first embodiment provides a meter account licensed to a meter vendorfor dispensing online postage to customers from a plurality of originzip codes. At predetermined intervals, the USPS receives a report of themeter account of the postage dispensed and amount dispensed by originzip codes. A second embodiment is similar to the first embodiment exceptit provides at least one vendor meter per zip code (thus assuringaccounting by zip code).

Another embodiment provides a plurality of vendor meters per zip codewhereby a mailer is loaned one of the vendor meters corresponding to thezip code from which the mailer is originating entry into the USPS systemand the use of the meter is revoked when usage stops. An alternate tothis embodiment provides a plurality of temporary meters that aretemporarily loaned to respective mailers until the USPS grants the meterlicense to the mailer.

Concerning the payment for postage over the Internet, the presentinvention includes the capability for paying for postage through amicropayment system. The present invention is compatible with a postagesubsidy system and method for printing advertisements on a mailpiece,including coupons with barcodes to identify the sender and receiver (andtypically, the redeemer) of the coupon. The present invention furtherprovides the concepts of purchasing an “e-book of stamps” over theInternet and interfacing with an online rewards program.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects and advantages of the present invention willbe apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description,taken in conjunction with accompanying drawings, in which like referencecharacters refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a virtual metering system;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a first embodiment of an instant virtualmetering system with a vendor meter account dispensing postage for anyorigin zip code;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of the process of dispensing postage with theinstant virtual metering system of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a second embodiment of an instant virtualmetering system with at least one vendor meter account for each originzip code;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of an alternate embodiment wherein a vendor meteraccount is loaned to a mailer while the mailer's meter license approvalis in process; and

FIG. 6 is another flow chart of a vendor meter account being loaned to acustomer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

As previously described, the USPS needs the point of origin zip code sothat the proper post office gets “credit” for inbound mail pieces. Up tonow, customers using a virtual postage metering system to evidencepostage on mail had to obtain a meter license for a meter account with adedicated origin zip code. In accordance with the present invention,users can meter postage outside of the current process of assigning eachuser a meter license. In describing the present invention, a knownvirtual metering system is first described followed by the transition toan instant virtual metering system.

In describing the present invention, reference is made to the drawings,wherein there is seen in FIG. 1, a virtual postage metering system,generally designated 10. The virtual postage metering system 10 includesa plurality (only one is shown) of personal computer (PC) systems,generally designated 20, each having access to a printer 22 for printingevidence of postage on an envelope. PC 20 is connected, via a networkservice provider 12, with a transaction processing Data Center 30 thatperforms postal accounting and evidencing of postage. The virtualpostage metering system 10 allows each customer to use a conventional PCto remotely obtain evidence of postage payment on an as needed basis.Unlike conventional postage metering systems, virtual postage meteringsystem 10 does not include any meter hardware located at the customer'ssite. Nor are any postal funds stored at the customer's site. Allmetering and accounting of funds occur at Data Center 30 usingfunctional software and database records. Previously noted InternationalPatent Application WO/9857302 discloses a virtual postage meteringsystem in which the database records in Data Center 30 comprised aplurality of meter accounts each of which represent a registeredcustomer's licensed postage meter.

In virtual postage metering system 10, a meter vendor, such as PitneyBowes Inc., provides the customer with client software that runs on PC20, e.g., the client software may be downloaded from the vendor'sInternet server. Alternatively, the client software may be Internetbrowser-based pages that provide customer interactions with the DataCenter 30. The meter vendor also manages Data Center 30. The clientsoftware initiates communications with Data Center 30 which performsmetering transactions to evidence postage for a single mailpiece orbatches of mailpieces. The client software establishes a connection toData Center 30, and requests postage by providing postal informationrelating to the requested transactions, such as postage amount,addressee information and the origin of deposit for each mailpiece. DataCenter 30 receives the postal information, determines the origin ZIP forthe mailpiece(s), performs accounting functions and generates anencrypted evidence of postage payment, such as a token or digitalsignature, and sends indicium information including the token, to PC 20.PC 20 receives the indicium information, creates an indicium bitmap,which can be displayed on a PC monitor (not shown) and printed on themailpiece by printer 22. Alternatively, Data Center 30 creates theindicium bitmap and sends to indicium bitmap to PC 20. PC 20 thendisconnects from Data Center 30 or requests another transaction. Theconnection between PC 20 and Data Center 30 may be through a NetworkService Provider, such as on the Internet, or by direct dial using thePC's modem.

Virtual postage metering system 10 provides advantages and featuresfound in virtual metering systems such as the previously notedClickstamp® Online Internet postage metering system. Virtual postagemetering system 10 eliminates the need to maintain and account fortraditional metering devices at each customer's site and providesflexibility for handling requests from multiple origins of deposit byeach customer. Virtual postage metering system 10 also provides valueadded services that are not available with conventional meter devices,such as, real-time address hygiene, direct marketing services andtrickle charge postage payment. Virtual postage metering system 10 canprovide customer authentication by Data Center 30 to identify customerswho have previously established user accounts. When a customer has beenauthenticated for each request, for example, by a username, password orother conventional methods, Data Center 30 services the request, andreturns indicium information to the PC 20 where the indicium is createdand printed on the mailpiece.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the customer initiates a postage evidencingtransaction by establishing communications between PC 20 and Data Center30. At Data Center 30, a Communication Server 32 supports connectivityfrom various communication technologies and protocols. CommunicationServer 32 merges all incoming traffic from a plurality of customers androutes it to a Function Server 34, which includes application softwarethat supports customer sign-on, postage dispensing and postal reporting.All customer and meter information is accessed from a Database Server 36where the information is securely stored using secure cryptographicprocesses and protocols as described below. Data Center 30 maintainscryptographic keys for each meter account in Database Server 36. Thecryptographic keys are used for postage evidencing and verification aswell as for security of the records stored in Database Server 36. A KeyManagement System 38 administers all cryptographic keys used in virtualpostage metering system 10. The cryptographic keys may be distributed toverifiers in remote locations. U.S. Pat. No. 5,812,666, filed Oct. 23,1995, and assigned to the assignee of the present invention, describessuch a key management system.

One or more cryptographic modules, referred to herein as secure “boxes”,are located within Data Center 30 and are used to perform cryptographicprocesses. Each secure box is a secure, tamper-evident andtamper-responding device, including a processor and memory that storesencryption keys and performs cryptographic operations using the keyswithin the secure boundary of the device. Data Center 30 includesseveral types of secure boxes as disclosed in the previously notedInternational Patent Application WO 98/57304. Data Center 30 may includemultiple boxes of each type for redundancy and performance.

In accordance with the present invention, virtual metering system 10transitions to an instant virtual metering system when the databaserecords in Data Center 30 include one or more meter accounts licensed tothe vendor. In the instant virtual metering system 10, the vendor meteraccount(s) is (are) used by customers to obtain postage paymentevidencing without waiting for meter accounts to be assigned toindividual customers.

Instant virtual postage metering system 10 provides a metering systemthat has the capability of originating transactions from multipleorigins of deposit. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,546,377, whichdescribes individual meter accounts having multiple origins of deposit.Various methods can be used to determine the origin of deposit for arequested transaction. For example, a method for determining origin ZIPcode using a caller ID from a telephone call is disclosed in U.S. Pat.No. 5,943,658, filed Dec. 31, 1996, and assigned to the assignee of thepresent invention.

Referring now to FIG. 2, in a first embodiment of the present invention,a vendor meter account 50, also referred to herein as remote meter 50,is located at a remote Data Center 30 controlled, for example by thepostage meter vendor. The meter account 50, which is assigned to thepostage meter vendor, dispenses postage payment evidence to a pluralityof customers 25. Customers 25 download postage payment evidencing fromthe remote meter 50, preferably through the Internet. All customers 25dispense postage from vendor meter 50. When postage is dispensed, acustomer 25 indicates in which local post office the mail will bedeposited, i.e. the origin of deposit. The previous post office used bya customer would be remembered and would act as a default. A number ofmeans could be used to direct the user to choosing the right postoffice, such as the customer's current address and/or phone number,customer's city with a drop down list control (if necessary) of postoffices and their locations. Alternatively, the origin of deposit can bedetermined as previously described. At some predetermined interval, thepostage meter vendor provides to the USPS for its accounting needs, anaccounting of the amount of postage dispensed by the meter 50 and theamount of postage handled by each post office based on the origin ofdeposit zip code as specified by the customers 25 or otherwisedetermined for all transactions completed during the interval. It isnoted that Data Center 30 may include a plurality of vendor meteraccounts 50 for the purpose of handling requests from a plurality ofcustomers at one time.

Referring now to FIG. 3, the process of dispensing postage in theembodiment described in FIG. 2 is now described. At step 100, vendorobtains at least one meter license for an online meter account. Themeter account is licensed to process transactions for a plurality oforigin zip codes. At step 104, a customer initializes a personal accountpreferably by completing a request for a meter license that heretoforemust be approved before customer could download postage. At step 108,the vendor processes customer information, such as name, address andmethod of payment (such as a credit card), that is provided with therequest form the meter license. At step 112, the customer requestsonline postage by entering or confirming postal information, includingrecipient address and postage amount and origin zip code. At step 116,vendor “loans” the use of the meter to the customer by processing thecustomer's requested transaction using the vendor meter account. Suchprocessing includes charging the customers credit card account for theamount of postage requested, accounting for the postage dispensed fromthe vendor meter account and accounting for the dispensed postage byorigin zip code. At step 120, the requested online postage is sent tothe customer in the same manner as known virtual postage meteringtransactions.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a second embodiment is described in which, themeter vendor has a plurality of meter accounts (meters) 50 assigned toit at Data Center 30, with at least one meter account 50 _(i) (where Iis 1 through m, and m is the total number of zip codes in the U.S.)being licensed to vendor for dispensing postage in each zip code in theU.S. In this embodiment, the process is identical to that in FIG. 3except that postage is brokered off of a meter account that has the sameorigin zip code as that the origin zip of the customer's request. Inthis manner, the proper post offices get credit for their inbound mail.A meter 50 _(i) is “loaned” to a customer for immediate use without theneed for postage meter license to the customer. Customers downloadpostage payment evidencing from meter 50 _(i), preferably through theInternet. The number of meter accounts per zip code will be determinedby the vendor to adequately support the customers requesting postage.

The present invention is suitable for use on a permanent arrangement,i.e., where low use customers never need to obtain a meter license totake advantage of PC postage over the internet. Thus, the presentinvention is not limited to requiring the customer to request a meterlicense, but can be used for the vendor dispensing postage from itsonline meter account to casual customers, i.e., customers who do notintend to register for a personal meter license but are content to useonline PC postage. The above descriptions provide an instantaneous“loan” of the meter for the instant transaction. Once a user establishesa personal identity registration, for example, one that include ausername and password subsequent requests can be concluded using thepreviously provided customer information. It is further noted that thevendor can “loan” its vendor online meter account for a period of time,such as a day or until the customer meter license is approved, providedthe vendor has a plurality of such accounts to handle a plurality ofsuch requests. Such a loan arrangement is described in more detailbelow.

To prevent misuse of a meter account not assigned to a customer, thesystem preferably identifies the customer, for example by username andpassword, who requested and printed the indicium (non-repudiation).Anonymous customers will not be permitted. Strong authentication betweena customer and the indicium is desired. For example a transactionnumber, such as an incremental transaction count, will be included inthe indicium.

In a third embodiment of the present invention, a collection of meters,either all at one zip code or a plurality per zip code, are loanedtemporarily out until the customer's license is provided by the Post. Inthis embodiment, again a plurality of meters are licensed to the metervendor (by zip code or all at one zip code) and a meter is loaned to acustomer. The customer uses this meter until receiving a license fromthe Post that assigns a new meter to the customer, at which time theloan of the temporarily assigned meter ends, which return the meter to apool of available meters, and the customer begins using theassigned/licensed meter.

Referring now to FIG. 5, the third embodiment is described as analternative process of instant postage metering in which a meter accountis loaned to a customer who has just registered for a meter license sothat the customer can immediately print postage while approval of themeter license is being processed. At step 200, vendor obtains aplurality of meter licenses corresponding to a plurality of online meteraccounts (meters). The meters are disabled and without postal value. Themeter accounts are licensed to process transactions for a plurality oforigin zip codes. At step 204, a customer registers to obtain a meterlicense by completing a request for a meter license that heretofore mustbe approved before customer could download postage. At step 208, thevendor processes customer information, such as name, address and methodof payment (such as a credit card), that is provided with the requestform the meter license. At step 212, the customer communicates with DataCenter 30, to dispense postage. The customer requests online postage byentering or confirming postal information, including recipient addressand postage amount and origin zip code. At step 216, if a meter has notbeen assigned and licensed to that customer, then at step 220, the metervendor immediately temporarily assigns a meter from the plurality ofmeters that are licensed to the postage meter vendor to the customer.The postage meter vendor passes to the USPS a “meter move” notice, whichis known procedure when a meter is moved from one customer to another.At step 224, the customer's requested transaction is instantly processedthrough the temporarily loaned meter. Such processing includes chargingthe customers credit card account for the amount of postage requested,accounting for the postage dispensed from the vendor meter account andaccounting for the dispensed postage by origin zip code. At step 228,the requested online postage is sent to the customer in the same manneras with known virtual postage metering transactions. At step 232, if thesystem recognizes that a loaned meter account has gone idle for someperiod of time, the system reclaims the meter (again with a “meter move”notice to the USPS) and makes it available for reassignment. If thecustomer comes back that had their meter reclaimed, a different meter ispicked from the pool and assigned to them. If at step 216, a meter hasbeen assigned and licensed to the customer, then at step 242 the onlinepostage transaction is completed using the customer's new meter.

It will be understood that, for this embodiment, the postage metervendor could have a plurality of meters that are registered at a singlezip code, for example the postage meter vendor's origin zip code. Thepostage meter vendor then loans such meters to customers with the “metermove” specifying the customers intended drop point. As previouslydescribed, the duration of the loan can be for any length of time from asingle transaction with the meter to a predetermined period, such as thetime it takes the customer to obtain a meter license. However, that theduration of the loan can be for a more substantial period, for example amonth or a year. It will be understood that the shorter loan periodssimply drive up the number of “meter move” notices sent to the USPS.

In accordance with the present invention, customers desiring to printonline postage can print postage immediately before a meter license isapproved for the customer. The third embodiment is now described belowwith reference to Pitney Bowes Clickstamp® Online Internet Postage theprocess of loaning a meter account to a customer is part of a marketingstrategy to encourage use of the system by providing the instantprinting of PC postage evidencing.

The present invention provides Clickstamp® Online Postage customers withthe ability to print postage immediately after online registration iscompleted and the client software for customer's PC has been loaded intothe PC.

There are two ways that Pitney Bowes can loan a meter account to acustomer. In one way, Pitney Bowes moves a loaner meter account for useby the customer and later transfers the loaner meter account to thecustomer's meter account when the customer's meter license is approved.In a second way, the loaner meter is returned to Pitney Bowes controland a new meter account is initialized to the customer's meter accountwhen the customer's meter license is approved.

Referring now to FIG. 6, at step 300, the system is initialized whenPitney Bowes obtains a license from the USPS for at least oneClickstamp® Online meter (meter account) with an origin zip codeassociated with every postal finance district. Each meter is authorizedin accordance with the IBIP Centralized Specifications and is ready foruse except that the meter state is set to a disabled mode to preventunauthorized use.

At step 304, customer registration occurs. When a customer registers fora meter license for the Clickstamp® Online Product, Pitney Bowes loansto the customer the use of a meter licensed in the customer's zip code(loaner meter). The meter state for the loaner meter is changed to anenabled mode to allow authorized use. The loaner meter is provided tothe customer for use pursuant to a short-term, for example 5 daysmaximum, agreement which expires at the end of the term or when a meterlicense is obtained for the customer, whichever occurs first. Followinga registration process, Pitney Bowes applies for a postage meter licenseon behalf of the customer. Pitney Bowes charges the loaner meter with aninitial postage amount, for example $25 pursuant to a marketing program.In the event that the loaner meter has funds remaining from a previousloan attempt, the initial refill is added to the remaining funds. AVirtual PSD record and Clickstamp® Online account corresponding to theloaner meter is modified to accept the customer's user ID, Password, anduse the customer's e-mail address for all outgoing communications.However, the license and corresponding Virtual PSD record andClickstamp® Online remain in Pitney Bowes name. In effect, Pitney Bowesis brokering postage to the customer. A new user secret key is generatedfor the meter via a re-keying process. A new user access key is e-mailedto the customer.

At step 308, the customer uses the loaner meter. The customer isinstructed to download the client software from a Pitney Bowes theClickstamp® Online web site. Upon first use of the Clickstamp® Onlineproduct, the customer is prompted to enter his access key. Once the keyis entered, the customer may begin dispensing postage.

Certain restrictions are associated with the use of the loner meter. Thecustomer cannot perform a meter refill operation until the meter islicensed in the customer's name. The customer is allowed to dispenseonly up the amount of the initial postage amount. In the event that theUSPS rejects the customer's license application, the meter willimmediately be disabled and the customer notified. Any indiciumdispensed is charged to the customer's selected method of payment, suchas a credit card. The meter license remains in Pitney Bowes' name, andwill return to a disabled state until it is loaned to another customer.

At step 312, when the customer's license is received, Pitney Bowestransfers the meter to the Customer's meter license. Pitney Bowesuninstalls the meter serial number under Pitney Bowes' license, andinstalls the meter serial number under the customer's license. PitneyBowes updates all Clickstamp® Online accounting and Virtual PSD databaserecords to complete the license transition. Pitney Bowes applies for anew “loaner” license in the zip code of the transitioned meter inpreparation for the next customer registration.

An alternative to step 312, when the customer's license is received,Pitney Bowes authorizes a new meter for the customer and requires thecustomer to delete and re-install the client application correspondingto the new meter. A new access key is e-mailed to the customer. Upon thenext access to the Clickstamp® Online server, the new access key isentered and the customer begins using the new meter. Pitney Bowesprocesses the loaner meter transaction logs to transfer any customerfunds remaining to the customer's new meter account and bills thecustomer's credit card for any postage used. Pitney Bowes disables theloaner meter until required for another customer.

It will be understood that, although the embodiments of the presentinvention are described as postage metering systems, the presentinvention is applicable to any value metering system that includestransaction evidencing, such as monetary transactions, item transactionsand information transactions.

In accordance with the present invention, payment for postage can occurthrough various methods. One method comprises a charge to the customer'smicropayment account. See, for example, U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/474,327 filed Dec. 29, 1999 and entitled METHOD AND SYSTEM FORSELLING DIGITAL CONTENT PRODUCED IN AN ONLINE COMMERCIAL TRANSACTION.Provided a relationship exists between a provider of micropaymentservices on the Internet and the postage meter vendor, the postage metervendor may collect funds for each instant metering transaction from thecustomer's account on the micropayment system.

Another method related to postage payment is referred to as indiciadispensing. A customer may request an indicium from the postage metervendor. The vendor can dispense the rights to dispense the indicium byway of a secure file. Upon opening the secure file, the customer isasked if a purchase is desired, and if so indicated, software on thecustomer's desktop requests the key to decrypt the file (containing therights to print the indicium, and perhaps information about the indicium(or the indicium itself) at the cost of payment being made from thecustomer's micropayment account to the postage meter vendor (who makespayment to the Post).

Yet another method related to postage payment is referred to as targetadvertising printed on a mailpiece. See U.S. Pat. No. 6,141,654, filedDec. 30, 1998, which describes a system and method for placingadvertising information on a mailpiece to subsidize postage payment forthe mailpiece. This includes placing a coupon on the mailpiece to givethe mailpiece more value. This concept may be extended to includeplacing on the coupon a barcode that contains information concerning thesender of the mailpiece as well as the recipient. Such information maybe in the open so any redeemer of the coupon has access to theinformation (provided they have the appropriate bar code scanner).Alternatively, the information may be encrypted such that the redeemerwould pay for one or more keys, for example the sender's key or therecipient key, to decrypt the information. The information may be anidentifier that can be collected and sent by the redeemer to the indiciaprovider and returned information about the mail piece. In this way onlythe information the redeemer pays for is made available to the redeemer.

Another method related to postage payment is referred to herein as“e-Book” of stamps. One of the problems in selling postage over theInternet is aggregating the service charges an indicia provider, i.e.postage meter vendor, must collect to make such a service financiallyviable. The current method is to extract a service subscription chargefrom users. This is not consistent with how customers view stamps. Thefinal alternative for payment suggested is an online e-book of stamps.This breaks down to two possible deployments. In one deployment, theindicia provider charges a surcharge on a book of stamps. In the currenteconomy of stamps, an example might be to charge $4.00 for a book ofeleven 34-cent stamps (face value: $3.74). The indicia provider collectsthe difference ($0.26) as a service fee. Alternatively, the indiciaprovider charges the face value of the stamps at some minimal amountthat makes sense to aggregate on a credit card. The indicia makesrevenue based on the ad sales from ads displayed to customers as theycome to dispense indicia. These ads are of high value inasmuch as theycan be highly targeted (again, based on previous disclosures) and thatyou have a high assurance that customers will be attracted to the siteinasmuch as they have a commitment to the site based on the stored valuethey have put on the site in the pre-purchasing of the stamps.

Another method related to postage payment is interfacing with an onlinerewards program (See for example U.S. Pat. No. 5,794,210). Onlinerewards programs exist today where Internet users are “rewarded” fortheir use of the web and “forced” viewing of advertising during theiruse. Through a relationship with an indicia provider, such onlinerewards programs could be used to transfer funds from the program to theindicia provider in exchange for indicia for the program's users.

While the present invention has been disclosed and described withreference to a specific embodiments thereof, it will be apparent, asnoted above that variations and modifications may be made therein. Forexample, the present invention is suitable for replacing the USPSrequirement of having a meter license for each customer and requiringcustomers to register with a trusted third party, such as a meter vendorand maintain an active account while using a meter licensed to the thirdparty. It is, thus, intended in the following claims to cover eachvariation and modification that falls within the true spirit and scopeof the present invention.

Clickstamp® is a registered trademark of Pitney Bowes Inc.

1. A method for a vendor to dispense metered postage over a network to aremote personal computer, the method comprising: establishing from apostal service a postage meter license that is not allocated to aparticular customer of the vendor, the meter license being associatedwith a meter account maintained at a computerized data center;receiving, by a processing device at the computerized data center viathe network, a transaction request for postage from a customer using theremote personal computer, the customer not previously associated withthe meter license, said transaction request including information fromthe customer corresponding to the transaction requested and paymentmethod; processing, by the processing device at the computerized datacenter, the transaction request by creating evidence of postage paymentand to account for the created evidence of postage payment in the meteraccount; effecting payment for the transaction based on the informationreceived from the customer; and sending, by the processing device, theevidence of postage payment from the computerized data center to theremote personal computer for use by the customer, thereby enabling thecustomer to obtain metered postage from the vendor without using anindividually associated meter license from the postal service.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: determining an origin of depositpostal code for the requested transaction.
 3. The method of claim 2,wherein the origin of deposit postal code is included in the informationfrom the customer.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the informationfrom the customer includes a username, password and credit cardinformation whereby a personal account is established for subsequenttransactions.